Auricular acupuncture
- What is Auricular acupuncture?
- How is Auricular acupuncture used?
- News and articles
- What we offer and where
What is Auricular acupuncture?
Auricular acupuncture, whilst originally based upon the ancient Chinese practice of acupuncture, has its origins in modern Europe. In 1957, Dr. Paul Nogier, a neurologist from Lyons in France, observed a locum doctor treating sciatica by cauterizing an area of the ear. This prompted extensive research, culminating in the development of the somatopic correspondence of specific parts of the body to the ear, based upon the concept of an inverted foetus. Dr. Nogier believed that pain and other symptoms in the body could be alleviated by needling, massaging or electronically stimulating the corresponding region of the ear.
Auricular acupuncture is a specialised complementary therapy, where acupuncture points on the outer ear are treated using needles, sometimes with electrical stimulation, to help relieve many chronic complaints.
Additionally, ear seeds, or pellets, can be used to maintain stimulation of the points. The seeds are no larger than the tip of an unsharpened pencil, do not pierce the skin, and are painless when affixed to the surface of the skin, and held in place with a small plaster. The patient can keep these seeds on for up to 1 week and re-stimulate the points themselves, by massaging the ear several times each day. This allows treatment to continue beyond the appointment.
There are over 200 acupuncture points on the ear, each point named after an area of our anatomy.
The outer ear acts like a switchboard to the brain. Each acupuncture point being treated triggers electrical impulses from the ear via the brain, to the specific part of the body being treated.
How is Auricular acupuncture used?
Auricular acupuncture is widely used throughout the United Kingdom and has been growing steadily since the 1970's. Auricular acupuncture Detox has been recommended by the Department of Health as appropriate for the treatment of clients in Tiers 1 - 4 of their model multi-disciplinary treatment framework, (Department of Health 2002).One of the significant advantages of Auricular acupuncture treatment is that it is complementary to conventional treatments and easily integrates into a variety of multi-disciplinary programmes
News and articles
- Article in Acupuncture Today on auricular acupuncture for anxiety
- Medical Acupuncture article on a specific auricular point
- American Journal of Public Health article on smoking cessation
- Pub Med article on auricular acupuncture to help weight loss
What we offer and where
Our clinics in Cambridgeshire and London offer Acupuncture, Osteopathy, Naturopathy, Trigger Point Therapy, Sports Injury and Deep Tissue Massage treatments for an extensive range of conditions.Our Sawtry clinic covers a wide area from Peterborough to Huntingdon and St. Neots, while at the Steeple Morden clinic we receive patients from Baldock and Royston, plus Ashwell and all over North Herts.
From Deeping St James, our most rural clinic attracts patients from Stamford, Spalding and Peterborough, while in London, our primary interest is helping the local domestic and business community in Holborn, Chancery Lane and Russell Square.
